War of the Poles
A series of wars against the Kingdom of Poland, lead by almost all of it's neighbors, with Silesia and Galicia-Lodomeria leading most of the campaigns. Nearly three wars are fought in this time span, and King Dobreslaw "the Hussar" defeats his enemies time and again. He is awarded his nickname and the adoration and respect of his people, and narrowly saved the faltering Kingdom. He'd even take lands from his neighbors due to his victories, expanding south and west. Background Tensions had been bubbling beneath the surface for the longest time in Poland between each country. Rulers across the Polish region had been bickering and infighting ever since the inception of the first survivalist groups, but as soon as the pre-war Military Government had crawled out of their bunkers and began establishing themselves on the surface, many peoples were subjugated and added into the newest and youngest nation; the new Kingdom of Poland. Many nations began to either foster warm or cold relations with the newest and rather powerful state, with two rivals quickly being established in the West and South; the Union of Silesia to the west, the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria to the south. This war was a massive event in Polish history, and would be considerably destructive, still leaving scars that have not yet healed in the present, and founding the legendary reputation of King Dobreslaw "the Hussar". War The war had truly begun with the death of King Dobreslaw's father, Wyladslaw Wojkowski in 2095, and the weakening of the Kingdom's image and military. Funding was growing harder to come by, and less and less people began to sign up. The Kingdom of Poland had long been eyeing southern resources, and pushing further outwards to give Lublin and Sandomierz breathing room. Galicia-Lodomeria and Silesia had, in secret, made a pact known as the "Southern Alliance of Poland", and had planned to attack the northern Kingdom in 2098. They had ambitions to expand territory, create new states, and demolish the pretender state. However, with the death of Wyladslaw, they took their chance in the year 2096. 2096 The war began slowly on the Galician front, as both the Kingdom of Poland and Galicia-Lodomeria had rather small standing armies and had to muster levies and further troops over the course of the war. However, the Union of Silesia held a rather large portion of standing troops (25,000), and marched into Polish land. They began to raze the countryside. This became a massive source of debate within the Court of Poland, with people chanting in the streets for decisive action. Thousands of refugees fled North as Silesian troops pillaged and sacked. The Kingdom of Poland marched south with whatever armies they had (8,000) to reinforce the Archbishop, who was already hard at work distrupting the Silesian army with his small force (4,000). 2097 Soon, troops flocked to both sides banners, with thousands enlisting and simply following the Polish army. Many Galicians made their way North to take part in the war effort, and to reinforce the weakened Silesian army, who at this point were trying to pull out to regather their strength. The Kingdom of Poland's army was lead by King Dobreslaw personally, who oversaw battles alongside his new royal cavalry, his "Winged Hussars". Fabin III of Galicia lead his armies personally, moving with his own armored cavalrymen. The Leader of Silesia was still on the homefront, with two generals, Radomir Minkowski and Michel Bogumił. 2098-2101 In 2098, this would be the only point within the wars that the two armies would be matched in terms of manpower. Both sides would lock in vicious and bloody battles, with both sides taking heavy wounding. The Polish would be on the retreat for most of the time, as their army was being constantly assaulted by both a vigorous Galician force, and a well-regimented Silesian force. They would find their lucky break during the Battle of Lodz in 2101, which would be the turning point of the entire war. This battle would find a decisive Polish victory, near slaughtering the Galician army and sending most of it scattering back south, effectively removing them from the war. 2102-2105 The rest of the war would see the Galicians signing a seperate peace with the Polish, tucking their tail between their legs and fleeing south, Fabin's name in ruin. However, Silesia would not cave so easily. They would continue the war effort, spurred on by the Leader and by the well-oiled propaganda machine that was the Ministry of the Military. They would be on a constant retreat, losing miles and miles of hard gained Polish soil, eventually breaching their own borders. Postwar On July 11, 2105, a peace was finally signed. Poland would gain significant land and prestige from the war, having come up as an underdog victor. Dobreslaw would vow to never let his army fall into such disrepair again. Silesia, with giving so many men and resources to the front to only lose them, would have people begin to lose faith in their leader. And soon, a famine would begin that would plunge Silesia into a dark age; though, they do eventually get the independence of Lodz and Katowice from Poland and Galicia. Galicia would falter, with Fabin cracking down on political opposition. His army was shamed and small, and a large memorial service would be held. Each July 11th in Silesia, Galicia, and Poland, memorial parades are held by the respective governments, vowing a better future for their people. Now, Fabin and the Leader eye the North, awaiting any speck of weakness.